Watson Almost Retired After Illness This Year

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 1st November 2013

Watson Almost Retired After Illness This Year

epa03541668 Heather Watson of Great Britain in action during her match against Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, in round three of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 18 January 2013. EPA/JOE CASTRO AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

Britain’s Heather Watson has revealed she contemplated retiring from tennis at the age of 21 after her form disintegrated, her ranking plummeted and she struggled to win a solitary match after suffering a serious bout of glandular fever or mononucleosis earlier this year.

In February Watson was ranked world no.39 and seemingly destined for good things after becoming the first British woman to win a singles tournament on the WTA tour since 1988 by lifting the trophy in winning in Osaka late last year. Two weeks ago she languished at world no.130 and has slipped below Johanna Konta to become British no.3.

The experiences of the last nine months clearly took their toll and Watson said: “The mental confidence at the end was so bad, ten times worse than the physical. I had worries and depression. I couldn’t sleep and didn’t want to play anymore.

“It’s one thing taking all your energy and being out for a period of time but it’s another thing coming back and having your confidence come away slowly after not being able to win some matches. Before, you feel like you completely belong; then after, coming back, I was just feeling like, can I even play tennis anymore?”

Normally a bubbly, gregarious character, Watson became almost reclusive. She continued: “When you win, everybody’s your friend and when you don’t, it’s not just you beating yourself up, it’s other people.”

She found the WTA circuit to be a forlorn place and yearned for her native Channel Islands, saying: “I just wanted to go home; that was my thought, all the time. I felt like the men’s tour is very different, but lots of girls especially just want to keep to themselves. A lot of them say, ‘I can’t be friends with anybody else because it will just make it hard if we play a match’.

“It’s fair enough, whatever you want to do. But I’m not one of those girls who just ignores everybody and doesn’t speak a word to anyone. When I’m going through a hard time, tennis is very lonely.”

Watson appeared to turn the corner playing an ITF event in Poitiers, where she reached the semi-finals, restoring some self-belief. One of her opponents in France was Christina McHale, who is also recovering from glandular fever and a similar battle with her confidence.

“Last year I never would have thought that I would be back playing ITFs at the end of this year and it breaks my heart a bit,” said Watson. “But it was good to share my feelings with Christina.

“We talked about it last week and it’s horrible and I would never wish it on anyone,” Watson said. “It was nice to have somebody to talk to about it, who was in the same boat.”

Diagnosed with the illness in March, she returned less than three months later at the French Open but struggled throughout the summer. Clearly below par, she was spotted in a locker room at one tournament in the United States curled up in a corner fast asleep just half an hour after a defeat.

Watson failed to make the second round in nine successive tournaments. The recent Asia swing, where she had significant ranking points to defend from last year, brought particular misery. Following a first-round defeat in Osaka when defending her title, Watson tumbled from no. 92 in the world to no. 133.

“I definitely came back too early,” Watson admitted. “Physically, I didn’t feel good again until the US Open. Some days I would feel a lot worse than others. I found concentrating in matches really difficult. I wasn’t able to train hard because I was worried about getting sick again. Then when you lose match after match your confidence goes.”

Topics: 10sballs, Christina Mchale, Heather Watson, Itf, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News, Wta